How many times have you lost 5..10..15…or more pounds only to regain all, most or even more of it, back?

For more than 90% of dieters, weight regain is the frustrating reality. A recently released study adds to the helps to better understand why many people can lose weight, but they’re unable to keep it off.

As an internist and obesity research who lose 30 pounds himself, Christopher Sciamanna, M.D., of Penn State University’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, that the steps you need to lose weight aren’t the same as those to keep it off.

According to Dr. Sciamanna, 9 keys to losing lbs include:

•Participating in a weight–loss program

•Seeking information about weight loss, nutrition or exercise

•Eating healthy snacks like fruits and veggies

•Limiting the amount of sugar you eat or drink

•Planning your meals and snacks

•Avoid skipping meals, especially breakfast

•Enjoy a variety of different kinds of exercise

•Finding exercise that you enjoy

•Remembering and thinking about how much better you’ll feel when you’re thinner

What they also found, however, is that among those who successfully lost weight and kept it off, there are specific practices associated with staying lean. The five ways to stop regain include:

•Eating low-fat sources of protein like lean meats, fish and poultry

•Exercising most days of the week.

•Rewarding yourself for sticking to your diet or exercise plan

•Reminding yourself why you need to control your weight

•Weighing yourself daily or at least a few times a week*

Other studies of successful losers have also found that weighing yourself daily, and adjusting your diet and or exercise as soon as you see the scale tick up is one of the most effective ways to maintain a new, lighter you. While it’s hard to step on the scale on a daily basis, it’s crucial to nip any weight gain in the bud.

Lots of great information – thanks for sharing. Keeping weight off is also driven by understanding why you want to lose weight and why you gained the weight in the first place. Until you clearly understand how you eat and what drives your unconscious food choices, weight loss will be temporary. Since over 80% of our actions are unconscious, it’s natural to go back to what we have always done and continue to repeat the cycle. Keeping the weight off requires breaking the cycle and creating new healthy habits and getting the whole family involved in healthy eating and making healthy choices.